Repatriation or No Repatriation. That is the Question!

The reparations talk is nothing new. Marcus Garvey was an advocate of it in the 1920's and the Rastafarian's have been demanding it for years. The talk has heated up once again due to the outspoken Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr The Honorable Ralph Everard Gonsalves. 

I'll be brutally honest with you I'm trapped between a rock and a hard place in regards to this issue. From an academic and a moral point of view I definitely feel as if the European powers owe the people of African decent in the region something.The pain and suffering that our ancestors went through to make the European nations what they are today deserves to be addressed.  

An apology would probably be the moral thing to do. But it is very unlikely due to the legal ramifications that it might bring. An apology from the European powers would essentially be construed as an admission of guilt. Admission would effectively leave the European nations open to some form of legal action. So that definitely isn't coming anytime soon, especially with the affair picking up the steam that it has of late. 

To be fair Dr Gonsalves does have a pretty good argument for repatriation. In 1833 the British government actually paid the planters of the British West Indies 20 million pounds in compensation for the loss of their property (the slaves) after emancipation. I mean lets be honest with ourselves the African slaves were the ones who toiled in the cane fields. They were the ones who  went through unspeakable horrors in order for the colonial powers and the planters themselves to reap the rewards. The African slaves received nothing in the form of monetary compensation or an apology.  

But that leads me to the point of my indecisiveness on the matter. Given the current track record of the governments of the Caribbean, can they be trusted with the potential large sums of money that repatriation could bring. I mean we are essentially talking about figures in the billions. What are they going to do with this money? I mean I'm sure the leaders of the region will woo the public with impressive plans of using the funds to increase the standard of living, eradicate poverty, and enhance infrastructure and the education system. But these are the same promises that they bandy around every 4 to 5 years when election time comes around and to no avail.  

So based on that evidence and that evidence alone I don't think that reparations are the answer to the social and economic problems that face the region. Does the region deserve repatriation in some shape or form? I think they do. Do I trust the leaders of the Caribbean to be responsible with the money no I don't. Based on current practices it just feels like history is simply going to repeat itself. The modern day plantocracy (the government) is bound to walk away with their hands full while the modern day slaves (the people) are left with their heads in their hands wondering how the hell did they get caught with the short end of the stick again. 

Five Reasons why Women have got it made!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a man through and through and I got the man parts to prove it. I have absolutely no intention of trading my man parts for lady parts. But if I believed in reincarnation (I don't by the way!) I'd definitely come back as a woman. I know it sounds crazy, but if you throw out childbirth (kudos to y'all females that push them things out of your you know what) and the whole bleeding thing once a month thing, women have a pretty good deal with this whole life thing. And boy do they use that shit to their advantage! Here's my top five reasons why being a chick is cooler than the other side of the pillow. 

Reason number one they make sex work for them. Think about how many women are in the position they are today because they know all types of different "positions"! Damn it anytime I was a woman, I'd damn near be the President of the United States of America by now. Can you say "Power of the pussy!" Think about all benefits to they can get. I'm talking about jobs, clothes, jewelry, houses, cars all that good stuff. And all because men spend 9 months in a belly just to come out of something that they will spend the rest of their lives trying to get back into. Shit anytime I was a woman I'd be totally taken care of! 

Reason number two is the ability to lie with a straight face. Lets be honest we all know that hands down women are the best liars in the world. They just have this uncanny ability to look you deep into your eyes and tell you the shit you want to hear. Tears on command and all that shit. "Yeah baby, you're my first." "You know I don't be doing this with everyone." "My period is on."  And the all time greatest line, "Of course the baby is yours." These chicks have skills, I'm telling you!  

Reason number three is the fact that they never ever, ever, ever, forget. They got memories like elephants. They may forgive your ass but they ain't never going to forget it. They'll be waiting for your ass to slip up one more time and just tighten the noose. You see men have this trustworthy aspect to them that allows them to just forgive forget and move on or just hold a grudge forever and not even try to make it look good. Not chicks, they'll lie to you and tell you its all good while silently plotting to get revenge.  

Reason number four why I wouldn't mind coming back as a chick is that if they ain't satisfied with their body or looks all they got to do is botox something there, implant something there, dye something there and bang they look like some kind of heavenly offering. Shit if you a dude and you ugly their ain't much you can do besides pump some steroids, go to the gym or pray for a boat load of money. 

Reason number five why I wouldn’t mind being a woman, is they don't even have to give up the booty most of the time to get what they want. I mean check this out, they want to go out to the club and they don't have any money. No problem. More than likely women either they getting in for free, or its free drinks for ladies all night. If those options are not viable all have to do is simply put on something skimpy and revealing, flash a smile or lead a guy on and get free drinks all night. Talk about a easy life! 

Now don't get me wrong I ain't hating on women or nothing like that nor am I a misogynistic pig. Women have got to do what they got to do to make it. It’s a tough world out there, they just got a lot more options than I do!

Why the Crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago is out of hand

After spending my Christmas holidays in Grenada and New Jersey respectively, I was greeted with a very interesting comment by the TSA officer at JFK. "Are you sure you want to go back to Trinidad, I hear that they are killing people left, right and center?" I responded by saying, "Boss that ain't nothing new." It might sound like a crass statement to make, but it's the truth. 

The crime situation and by extent the murder situation in Trinidad is nothing new. Its been going on for years. Successive governments and foreign experts have failed to solve the problem and due to "Yellow Journalism" by the press, now every Tom, Dick and Harry is in an uproar and has their two cents to give. I'm no different though I feel my two cents is worth a hell of a lot more. 

You see in my eyes the crime situation in Trinidad is inevitable for a number of reasons and it starts from the top of society and trickles right down to the bottom. The politicians themselves are sincerely out of touch with what's going on on the ground level due to the sheltered lives that they live. The country has an inept Police Force which is under manned and quite frankly ill equipped to do their job. The population don't trust the police and the court system is an absolute mess. 

Lets start at the top with our politicians. During election time they spew all types of promises about what they will do to decrease the crime rate just to get your vote. You elect them to office and they quickly forget all about the promises they have made to the public. They are often to busy either arguing with each other about trivial matters or simply enjoying the perks of their position. The only time they become concerned about such matters is when it is sensationalized by the press or when it hits close to home. 

Then we have the Police Force. One way to combat this crime phenomena is to have significant consequences for ones actions. No I'm not necessarily talking about corporal punishment and hangings etc. This is where the Police force should come in. In order for consequences to be handed out, perpetrators need to be caught. At the moment the police can't seem to catch a bloody cold. At the time of this writing their have been 20 odd murders and no arrests!  So of course the criminals laugh at this ineptitude as they don't have to worry about being apprehended. 

Now God forbid the police actually catch a criminal and charge them with a crime. We now have to deal with the ineptitude of the legal system. Due to the back log in the courts most cases take years to come before the judge and be completed. More often than not the accused is granted bail and continues to wreak havoc on society. I can't count the amount of times I have opened the newspaper to read about someone who is in in court answering a charge only to find out that they have two or three other pending matters in court. 

Now it might seem as if I'm just bashing the powers that be for their lack of a action, but truth be told we as citizens are playing a rather important role in the crap that is happening in the country. Trinidadians always describe themselves as people who are always involved in the business of others. Therefore we know who the criminals are, more often than not we simply turn a blind eye to their actions until it truly actually concerns our well being. Also the mores and values of society have changed so much that now it's all about "getting it" by any means necessary. If we need to get something done and done quickly we often circumvent protocol or rules. What we don't realize is that we are inadvertently teaching the youth to do the same. Society is actually  breeding criminals in an attempt to get the things that we need to live a normal and comfortable life. Why should I go to school and get an education and get a job when I can just do something illegal and make money in a quick and easy way. Why should I sit down and try and solve differences in an amicable way when I can just pull out my gun and kill you.  

You see the only way to solve this crime problem is for everyone one on the ship to row in the same direction. Governments and by extension politicians need to held accountable for their actions and promises. The police service needs a severe overhaul, rogue officers need to be dismissed, more officers need to be recruited and extensive training in preventing and solving crime needs to be administered. The court system needs to be revamped as well, the back log of cases at the moment are simply prohibiting the wheels of justice at the moment. We the people also need to do our part and uphold our end of the bargain. We need to start to instill the old school mores and norms back into society starting with the youth. 

These changes won't be easy, but they are far from impossible. But if they are not made the population might as well get used to living in fear. The sad thing is many of us are so accustomed to this life we fear the change more than we fear for our own safety.